Just when I thought a storyline could not possibly get any worse than the prison rape of a barely eighteen year old kid it does. A casual observer might ask how a prison rape storyline could get any worse. Well, General Hospital answered that question on Tuesday by having Sam take it upon herself to get Michael an escort so he could learn about sex.
I might be able to forgive Michael for a momentary lapse in judgment where he thought it would be beneficial to get his first real sexual experience out of the way. After all Michael has a lot of issues for someone so young and for the last few weeks he has been repeatedly confronted with images of couples having sex. Taking this into account it would be understandable for Michael to think that obtaining a sense of "normal" intimacy with someone would solve all his problems. Like I said Michael is a confused, young kid who is prone to poor decision making.
I do think it was a little presumptuous, if not a little insulting for him to assume that Ally would expect sex from him if they got into a relationship. Let's forget for a moment that he hasn't even started dating this girl yet, but they are in high school. Michael should not feel like he has to be ready for sex right now. High schools are filled with kids who aren't ready for sex whether they have experienced prison rape or not.
Furthermore, I'm not sure what makes Michael think that a girl would appreciate him going to a professional to get some experience before having sex with her. No respectable girl would want that and considering that Ally seems to like Michael for the fact that he's a nice guy I'm pretty sure she would hate that. As I said before though, Michael is a young kid with a lot of issues, but that does not excuse Sam. For her to not only condone Michael's escort idea but to actually set this idea in motion is reprehensible. Michael's issues cannot be fixed by a one-night stand with the hooker with a heart of gold. He's still going to have the same impulse control problems and intimacy issues as he did before, in fact a sexual encounter with a stranger may actually make them worse. Therefore it is beyond reason that Sam would take it upon herself to facilitate such an encounter for Michael.
Furthermore I cannot understand how Candy, a woman who, according to Sam, is trying to turn her life around, would agree to have sex with a high school boy. I found it even more strange that both Sam and Candy seemed more excited about this set up than Michael was, Sam especially with her little "call me" gesture to Michael as she left the hotel room. What is she moonlighting as a pimp now? Considering the way this storyline is going it would appear that Drew Garrett wasn't fired, he was thrown a life preserver!
I might be able to forgive Michael for a momentary lapse in judgment where he thought it would be beneficial to get his first real sexual experience out of the way. After all Michael has a lot of issues for someone so young and for the last few weeks he has been repeatedly confronted with images of couples having sex. Taking this into account it would be understandable for Michael to think that obtaining a sense of "normal" intimacy with someone would solve all his problems. Like I said Michael is a confused, young kid who is prone to poor decision making.
I do think it was a little presumptuous, if not a little insulting for him to assume that Ally would expect sex from him if they got into a relationship. Let's forget for a moment that he hasn't even started dating this girl yet, but they are in high school. Michael should not feel like he has to be ready for sex right now. High schools are filled with kids who aren't ready for sex whether they have experienced prison rape or not.
Furthermore, I'm not sure what makes Michael think that a girl would appreciate him going to a professional to get some experience before having sex with her. No respectable girl would want that and considering that Ally seems to like Michael for the fact that he's a nice guy I'm pretty sure she would hate that. As I said before though, Michael is a young kid with a lot of issues, but that does not excuse Sam. For her to not only condone Michael's escort idea but to actually set this idea in motion is reprehensible. Michael's issues cannot be fixed by a one-night stand with the hooker with a heart of gold. He's still going to have the same impulse control problems and intimacy issues as he did before, in fact a sexual encounter with a stranger may actually make them worse. Therefore it is beyond reason that Sam would take it upon herself to facilitate such an encounter for Michael.
Furthermore I cannot understand how Candy, a woman who, according to Sam, is trying to turn her life around, would agree to have sex with a high school boy. I found it even more strange that both Sam and Candy seemed more excited about this set up than Michael was, Sam especially with her little "call me" gesture to Michael as she left the hotel room. What is she moonlighting as a pimp now? Considering the way this storyline is going it would appear that Drew Garrett wasn't fired, he was thrown a life preserver!
Paula,
ReplyDeleteOkay another point - if Michael is afraid he's going to lash out and hurt Ally, the solution is to fix him up with Candy? It's okay to lash out at her because she's a, well, exotic dancer and they get abused all the time? It would be better if Sam or Jason had hired Dr. Ruth, eh?
It just sends a bad message about "good" girls. Remember Sam kept stressing the "good" girl thing so it's confusing that Candy is there to help Michael with his feelings. And what happens if he blurts out to her about the prison rape? Is she qualified to handle something like this just because of her exotic dancing experience? Is she expendable because of her profession?
Oh, and no, not every high school girl wants to hook up. Trust me, I know.
Peggy
Hi Peggy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! Excellent point about why Sam seems to think it would be so much better if Michael lashed out at Candy. Just because she has sex experience and is apparently willing to do it with anyone doesn't mean she has experience with PTSD. From what I gathered from Sam's conversation with Jason it seemed like she thought that since Candy was experienced and would be gentle with Michael she wouldn't push any wrong buttons. What she failed to take into account is that every button with Michael is the wrong button. No one can even touch his hand or shoulder without him flinching or lashing out. Aside from that even if Michael made it through having sex with Candy without any episodes, what makes Sam think that if he had sex with Ally he wouldn't lash out at her anyway? Like I said a sexual encounter with a random stranger isn't going to fix what's going on with Michael. He needs counseling and maybe if he had a mother who wasn't so focused on avenging his prison stay she could work on helping him re-adjust to normal life. Making Dante pay isn't going to help what he's going through now.
I also agree with you that this is sending a bad message about so-called good girls. Anyone who is trying to turn their life around isn't going to accept an invitation to have sex with a random teenage boy who was in prison. She isn't some good samaritan doing a good deed.
My sentiments exactly about the high school girls. I was one of the few in my high school that wasn't about hooking up, but it still proves that not everyone is looking for that so why would Michael just assume Ally was? Not every relationship leads to sex anyway and in my opinion no high school relationship should.
Paula